Ana Valero, PhD in Constitutional Law from the University of Valencia, return to Canada Blanch Foundation to delve deeper through cinema about sexual consent in a new Cañada Blanch Dialogue next to Aurea Ortiz, Professor of Film History at the University of Valencia.
On this occasion, Valero presents his latest book, A cinematographic look at sexual consent, (Tirant lo Blanch, 2025) in which he analyzes how recent productions, especially those led by women, reformulate the notion of consent in the face of current legal and feminist discourses, raising new tensions between freedom, violence and responsibility. This dialogue opens a space for critical analysis in which they intersect right, gender and audiovisual culture, and proposes a reflection on how cinema represents and questions power dynamics, desire and autonomy.
Ana Valero has participated in previous Cañada Blanch Dialogues to reflect on sexual consent with Clara Serra, during the book presentation The meaning of consent; about pornography, artificial intelligence and deepfakes with Paz Lloria; on the autonomy of art on the occasion of the publication of Fair fictions, with Eva Peyró, Jesús García Cívico and Carlos Pérez de Ziriza; y, recently, has participated in the presentation of Darío Adanti's book Peronism explained to the Spanish.
On A cinematographic look at sexual consent
Sexual consent has been and continues to be a disputed term. Faced with the “forbidden to prohibit” of the sexual revolution of the sixties, Since the outbreak of #MeToo, contemporary societies are considering the limits of sexual freedom. The most recent criminal reforms establish a model of affirmative consent as the ideal formula to end sexual violence. But what does consent really mean?? Should consent always be expressed verbally and explicitly?? How do you negotiate in relationships permeated by power?? Is an initial signal sufficient or must it be renewed throughout the match?? All these questions resonate on the big screen. Contemporary cinema and series have become a privileged space to explore and question sexual consent. With a critical analysis, this work reviews the most recent audiovisual narratives to show how fiction reflects—and sometimes anticipates—the dilemmas we experience in reality.. An essential trip for those who want to understand how cinema is reflecting and shaping the conversation about desire, freedom and limits.
